Gabrielle Giffords to lawmakers: 'Have some courage'

Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords speaks during the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 27, 2016.(Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)

Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot at a 2011 constituent meeting in Tucson, on Thursday ripped members of Congress who aren’t holding town hall meetings, calling on them to “have some courage.”

“To the politicians who have abandoned their civic obligations, I say this: Have some courage. Face your constituents. Hold town halls,” she said.

The Arizona Democrat’s statement refers to a letter Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, sent to his constituents, invoking the Giffords shooting as a reason not to hold a public town hall.

Giffords, who survived a gunshot wound to the head, said town hall and constituent meetings were a “hallmark” of her tenure in Congress and that listening to her constituents was “the most basic and core tenant” of her job.

"I was shot on a Saturday morning,” she said. “By Monday morning my offices were open to the public. Ron Barber — at my side that Saturday, who was shot multiple times, then elected to Congress in my stead — held town halls. It's what the people deserve in a representative.”

Gohmert told constituents that after Giffords was shot, the House Sergeant-at-Arms advised members that “civilian attendees” stand the greatest chance of being harmed or killed at congressional events, KLTV reported Tuesday. Telephone town halls allow him to communicate with more constituents, he wrote.

“Unfortunately, at this time there are groups from the more violent strains of the leftist ideology, some even being paid, who are preying on public town halls to wreak havoc and threaten public safety,” he wrote.

The 2011 shooting at Giffords’ “Congress on your Corner” event killed six of her constituents and wounded 12 others. It was the first assassination attempt on a member of Congress meeting with constituents.

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Following the shooting, Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, who are both gun owners, co-founded the gun-control group Americans for Responsible Solutions. In the past year, she has held more than 50 public events across the country to campaign for gun safety.

“Many of the members of Congress who are refusing to hold town halls and listen to their constituents concerns are the very same politicians that have opposed commonsense gun violence prevention policies and have allowed the Washington gun lobby to threaten the safety of law enforcement and everyday citizens in our schools, businesses, places of worship, airports, and movie theaters,” her statement says.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., offered support for Giffords on Twitter.

"U know what takes courage? Learning to talk after being shot in the head," wrote Murphy, an advocate for gun-control legislation in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. "U know what takes no courage? Doing your job & facing your voters."

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Treshaun Nunez speaks with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., after a town hall meeting on Feb. 23, 2017 in Thibodaux, La. Nunez's partner, a citizen of Mexico who grew up in the United States as an illegal immigrant, left voluntarily at the age of 17 and attempted to re-enter the U.S. legally. Nunez's partner is currently barred from entering the U.S. for 10 years, and Nunez and Cassidy talked about his situation. Jonathan Bachman, Getty Images

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People react in agreement to a question posed to Rep. Leonard Lance, R-N.J., during a town hall meeting at Raritan Valley Community College on Feb. 22, 2017, in Branchburg, N.J. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, AFP/Getty Images

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., tries to pick a member among a crowd to listen to a question during his town hall meeting at East Jefferson Regional Library in Metairie, La., on Feb. 22, 2017. Andrew Boyd, AP

A woman yells about her child's health care, which she says is threatened, as Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, left, enters his town hall meeting at East Jefferson Regional Library in Metairie, La., on Feb. 22, 2017. Andrew Boyd, AP

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., responds to a woman who questioned why he doesn't hold more public town hall meetings when he's back home during a Carson City Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Feb. 22, 2017. Scott Sonner, AP

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Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., speaks at a town hall meeting about controversial Republican proposals in Congress and actions by President Trump on health care, immigration and the environment on Feb. 21, 2017, in Mariposa, Calif. Angela Hart, AP

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Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, speaks during a town hall meeting at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, on Feb. 9, 2017. Some attendees of the contentious town hall have sent the congressman fake invoices after he claimed some people there were paid protesters. Rick Bowmer, AP